NCJ Number
89346
Journal
Sociological Inquiry Volume: 52 Issue: 1 Dated: (Winter 1982) Pages: 1-15
Date Published
1982
Length
15 pages
Annotation
This paper draws attention to the common law distinction between felonies and misdemeanors. It asks whether this distinction, when drawn on the level of formal criminal procedure, has its counterpart on the informal level, in the use of different criteria to decide whether and how to prosecute the defendant.
Abstract
Analysis of data from the District of Columbia (16,196 cases filed and disposed by the U.S. Attorney in Washington, D.C., between 1974-75) indicates that the felony-misdemeanor distinction clearly conditions the role of both legally relevant and irrelevant factors. An underlying tendency for dismissal exists where the case, whether a felony or a misdemeanor, is legally less serious or has evidentiary weaknesses. The paper concludes with a discussion of the empirical and theoretical implications of the findings. Three tables, 7 endnotes, and 38 references are provided. (Author abstract modified)